Writing Fundamentals: Part 6

Office of Graduate Studies Author

12/19/2016 Added

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Part 6 of a 10-part Research Writing Fundamentals workshop presented by Dr. Rick Lombardo

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[00:00:00.211]This next section I'm gonna go through
[00:00:02.479]paragraphs, topic sentences,
[00:00:06.099]and we're gonna have a little exercise
[00:00:07.220]that's kind of fun, diving into paragraphs,
[00:00:10.209]and a transitions exercise.
[00:00:13.923]So again, we're doing an upside down triangle.
[00:00:19.339]From a general to a specific.
[00:00:22.566]So, let's take a look at the basic framework of a paragraph.
[00:00:28.473]I'd like you to take out a piece of paper,
[00:00:30.153]blank piece of paper and write these squares in there.
[00:00:36.139]And I put this together for myself years ago
[00:00:38.555]because I needed to see how this puzzle was put together.
[00:00:43.403]Those are obvious paragraphs, right?
[00:00:46.833]Draw those boxes out.
[00:00:55.809]Now, draw some thick lines at the top of each paragraph.
[00:01:01.032]Notice that the top line is thicker.
[00:01:05.315]Because that's introducing to your reader
[00:01:06.913]what this paper is about.
[00:01:13.893]What are those called in writing?
[00:01:18.085]Those thick lines?
[00:01:20.054]Topic sentences.
[00:01:21.028]Topic sentences.
[00:01:23.507]They're the king and queen of the paragraph.
[00:01:26.362]Why is it important to remember the word topic sentences?
[00:01:30.567]Why is that important?
[00:01:33.074]Because they what, what do they do?
[00:01:37.094]Introduce a topic.
[00:01:38.463]Tells the reader what the paragraph is about.
[00:01:44.218]Now when you become a very good writer,
[00:01:46.902]you could have the topic sentences in other places.
[00:01:49.583]But for now, stick to the basic,
[00:01:52.872]the paragraph should start with
[00:01:54.133]the king or queen thought that rules the paragraph.
[00:02:01.361]Now, if this is your introductory paragraph here,
[00:02:06.936]the important thing is draw arrows to that.
[00:02:12.752]From each of the thick lines to your intro thesis.
[00:02:18.831]This is what the paper's about.
[00:02:25.362]Now, that means they have to be connected
[00:02:27.745]some way to the thesis.
[00:02:30.181]And what you need to do as well,
[00:02:32.915]they need to be in a right order.
[00:02:36.952]The logical order, a naturally logical order.
[00:02:42.027]Go ahead and write, put these on your paper.
[00:02:45.204]Just scribble in those lines in each of those boxes.
[00:02:58.168]These are obviously what?
[00:03:01.448]Anybody?
[00:03:02.308]Sentence.
[00:03:03.144]Sentences.
[00:03:04.902]These are sentences.
[00:03:08.171]Now, you got that all scribbled in?
[00:03:13.030]Watch what I do here.
[00:03:17.972]All those sentences should be connected
[00:03:20.314]to the topic sentence in each paragraph.
[00:03:27.493]So that means if this says
[00:03:30.071]we're gonna talk about horseback riding,
[00:03:34.604]don't bring in rollerskating here.
[00:03:40.184]And I actually worked with a post-doc once
[00:03:43.072]who had three topic sentences in each paragraph.
[00:03:47.728]I was trying, help you start to think logically here.
[00:03:52.971]A paragraph should have one topic sentence
[00:03:56.005]and the sentences that follow should support
[00:03:59.163]or elaborate upon what the topic sentence
[00:04:02.215]you said you were gonna discuss.
[00:04:06.504]If it doesn't, it doesn't belong there.
[00:04:08.422]If it doesn't, maybe it should be
[00:04:09.447]the topic sentence of another paragraph.
[00:04:13.756]What do you suppose these are?
[00:04:19.824]What are these?
[00:04:21.177]Transitions?
[00:04:22.042]Transitions.
[00:04:26.322]They can occur when?
[00:04:28.163]They can occur between sentences,
[00:04:30.808]within sentences, and at the end of paragraphs to tell
[00:04:35.357]the reader what the next paragraph is going to be about.
[00:04:38.403]It can be an entire sentence.
[00:04:41.587]What most of us have a tendency to do
[00:04:43.916]is forget about transitions.
[00:04:46.898]The transitions are the glue
[00:04:50.120]that put your thoughts together for the reader.
[00:04:54.183]The reader desperately needs transitions.
[00:04:58.632]Remember the paragraph we saw,
[00:05:01.588]not in the Caribbean anymore?
[00:05:04.226]Somebody said it's more readable
[00:05:06.144]because there's transitions.
[00:05:09.855]And that's exactly right.
[00:05:11.961]You helped a reader move from point A,
[00:05:14.645]to point B, to point C,
[00:05:17.023]by the use of transitions.
[00:05:19.093]And we'll see this more completely in a little bit.
[00:05:25.809]So, that's a basic framework.
[00:05:28.931]I'm gonna overlay.
[00:05:32.684]Look at this.
[00:05:33.984]So we have your statement of purpose.
[00:05:38.146]You might give an outline,
[00:05:39.456]the detail of what the paper's gonna be about.
[00:05:42.575]But every paragraph, made your point.
[00:05:45.966]It's a topic sentence, a controlling idea.
[00:05:49.259]Your supporting detail.
[00:05:51.690]And you might conclude at the end of the paragraph
[00:05:54.070]or have a transition sentence
[00:05:55.831]that moves the reader to the next paragraph.
[00:05:58.743]And so on and so forth.
[00:06:00.273]Now this is, could go on forever.
[00:06:04.156]You could have 300 of these boxes.
[00:06:09.121]The last box, the final box, review main points,
[00:06:15.560]give the impact or importance, so what?
[00:06:18.232]There's an N here that means these can on indefinitely.

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Writing Fundamentals: Part 6

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